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About Me

I am a Ph.D. student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. I study the History of Biblical Interpretation, which includes Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. My interests are religion, politics, TV, movies, and reading.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Mesothelioma: Virgil's Story

Virgil Anderson has Mesothelioma, and he asked me to post his story, which he sent to me. Here it is:

Mr. Anderson was born and raised in Williamson, WV. His father, a
coal miner, passed when Virgil was 8 years old. Virgil worked in
demolition work and excavating since high school. This required the
physical tear out, and hands on removal of asbestos containing
insulation in walls, ceiling, attics and heating and cooling systems. To
remove this required saws and sledge hammers all of which sent the
asbestos fibers flying into the air. Unfortunately for Virgil the
material had to not only be freed from its location but also picked up
and carried to the disposal area. Once asbestos is disturbed it can stay
in the air for 5 days. On some occasions there was a haze of dust and
debris that you could actually taste in your mouth. He also came in
contact with asbestos while working on his family’s farm and during his
job as a press operator in the manufacturing of stovetops.

Virgil Anderson was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma
cancer, which is a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Many other
groups of people come in contact with a lot of asbestos and are also at
risk.

When he was diagnosed
with mesothelioma he needed immediate medical attention. He found a few
websites on the internet that are supposed to help people with
mesothelioma cancer but nobody got back to him.

Then he found Mesothelioma.net.
Even though he contacted them on a Sunday one of their patient
advocates gave him a call back within minutes. They gave him a great
deal of helpful information on doctors and resources available to him.

As a result of their website, he is now being treated at the national
cancer institute and the patient advocates have even provided him with
financial assistance so he could afford a place to live during his
chemotherapy. If he had not reached out to this website he would likely
be homeless and more importantly in Hospice waiting to die. These people
gave him his only chance at survival.

One year ago before all this happened, Virgil was very active but
now he has become extremely limited in his activities. Now he spends his
extra time spreading awareness and helping others who are in need of
assistance. If you would like to contact Virgil, his email is
virgil.anderson@mesothelioma.net.